Find Beauty for The Paper Players

 Good morning on this Sunday Sunday September 11.  I hope everything is going well with you today! I am so glad you're here to join in for The Paper Players Challenge #608. Joanne has a wonderful group of colors to choose from for your projects! 

I pulled out some of my Stampin' Up! card stock and made my decision to feature dies and flowers using the MFT stamps Flower Bouquet Dynamics. 

These can be arranged in so many ways and I love that they have some cuts that allow the individual blooms to flex for some dimension. 

I used Old Olive, Mint Macaron, Blackberry Bliss, and Daffodil Delight card stocks. The basket (from The Greetery) is lined with a soft Petal Pink pattern from Stampin' Up!'s Textured Chic Specialty Designer Paper. The crosshatch die (Stampin' Up! Chic Dies)  is one of my favorites to provide a textured backdrop. The sentiment was stamped using Blackberry Bliss Ink. I love the contrast this color gives! It's a nice alternative to black.

That's it for me today, I hope that you will be inspired to play along!

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Cute Critters Continued

 Hey there! 

I have quite a few card ideas for critters coming up in future posts but today's card features the cuties from the Birthday Buds stamp set (MFT).

Creating an inked background was a perfect fit with the sketch offered this week at MFT so I was encouraged to play along. I loved coloring this pig and his buds with Copics. Oxide inks in Tumbled Glass and Cracked Pistachio were used and spatters added of water and white ink.

Don't know what I think of the glittered star in the sky since it's not a night scene. Blame it on the sketch as I needed a third circle, lol. A little fun and artistic freedom.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead. Stay well, enjoy the things you can, and find ways to be creatively social Thanks so much for your kind visits and comments. You make my day!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Polka Dots and Birthday Buds

Hello dear friends, welcome to a new weekend!

I put a few more images I had stamped and fussy cut the other day to good use on a card made for Freshly Made Sketches.

I just love these critters from BB Birthday Buds (MFT stamps). I colored them with Copics, pairing them with Polka dotted paper (from PTI) and scattering a few sequins into the mix. Clear Nuvo drops over the balloons and a scalloped border die add texture.

Isn't this a unique sketch? 

Hope this brightens your day. With all of your staying in, have you found a way to make Friday special? I'm still thinking about it. 

Wishing you well, stay well! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Coloring with Inktense Pencils

Hello!
I knew I had taken a break from card-making and posting, but I had no IDEA it's been over 2 weeks! 
Last post I said I was puttering, and I guess I continued in that mode. A few things have been going on, and well, life happens! 

One of my creative days involved a spurt of watching videos and coloring a bunch of images with Inktense pencils. My favorites were these adorable mice from MFT (Harvest Mice). I used an aqua brush to spread the color and added a few layers of color. While it's still not the medium I'm most comfortable with, I did get better with practice. 

I learned that keeping the aqua brush just barely damp worked best. The background areas of ground and sky were sponged with Distress Oxide Inks.

The sentiment is one of such nostalgia for me because it's from a song my Mom used to sing to us. If you do a search for it, it's good for a chuckle. Makes me feel really old, lol. But then Mom lived to be 96 and never thought she was old. So sing a chorus for her!

I hope I will get back into some stamping soon. Thanks for visiting today! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Glad We're Friends for MFT

It was so nice to see the sunshine today!  Blue skies in North Carolina are extra special.

I'm popping in with one last post for the week. I loved the sketch this week at the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at My Favorite Things, and was happy to pull out some of my MFT stamps and dies for today's card.

I began with ink blending using Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Worn Lipstick and Tattered Rose. The images and dies are from the Blissful Blooms stamp set, colored with Copic markers. For the sentiment, I stamped and embossed using the Furever Friends set. 

Here's the sketch. 

I also had a fabulous surprise today. My card was chosen as the WINNER at CAS(E) This Sketch. I am proud to display my badge. 

Thank you for your kind comments, they are always such an encouragement. 

Spot Color Word Die Cuts

Well, it's Tuesday. How are things going for you today? Are you getting crafty?

Here I am with my Make It Monday card for Papertrey Ink. Our challenge from Betsy is to Spot Color Word Diecuts. It's like highlight coloring on a die cut with the rest of the image in black and white surrounding it.

Had I ever heard of this before? No. Did I learn something new? You bet! Out of my style zone ?  Most definitely. Graphic is the one style I avoid - but I had so much fun experimenting with this technique. 

Now it's time for you to see what you think. 

I didn't have a PTI line image except flowers, so I stamped these adorable owls since they seemed a good fit for this technique. For the die cut, I used the thanks from PTI's Bold Borders: Diagonal die. I did the highlight coloring with Copics and Distress Markers. Here's a close up so you can see the detail. 

I'm sure you can imagine me wondering which embellishments to use (sequins, anyone?)  I ended up deciding the googlie eyes were a perfect accent right in the center of the card. 

I placed the owls on a background panel made of Distress Oxide inks that had been spattered, and I rounded the corners for a playful effect. 

Thanks for visiting me today. Thanks for OWL you do, too!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: MFT - For Owl You Do

Paper: Neenah Solar White, SU - Pool Party

INK:Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black; Distress Oxide Inks - Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers

Accessories: Papertrey Ink - Bold Borders Die: Diagonal, Corner Rounder

Count the Stars

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I find it's always hard getting back into stamping after the rush of the holidays. With all the frenzy of Christmas card making and activities, followed by a few days of being out of the craft room, my mojo vanishes. 
I got back in my craft room saddle last night and cleaned up all the mess covering my tables! Now I'm ready to look forward and I have a card to post for you. 

I'm loving ink blending with my new Oxide inks and pulling out the Count the Stars set from MFT. Challenges help kickstart my creativity. I'm playing along with the MFT Sketch Challenge and the Star Power Challenge at Creative Construction with Blueprints.
Thanks so much for taking a look! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Count the Stars MFT and dies

Paper: Whisper White, Silver Glitter

Inks: Distress Oxide Inks - Broken China, Peacock Blue, Faded Jeans

Accessories: Blueprints 24, SSS Stencil Falling Stars

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